Computing environments using multiple servers to provide data and services to users have proliferated due to the growth of networked computer systems such as the Internet. Server farms have been developed to include multiple servers typically located in a single or common area for providing programs or data to end users. A server farm—also referred to as a server cluster, computer farm, or server ranch—is a group of networked servers that are housed or located in one location. In the context of the Internet, a Web server farm, or Web farm, includes a Web site that runs off of more than one server, or an ISP that provides Web hosting services using multiple servers. An example of a server farm may include a rack of servers (i.e., 100 computers or servers) for website hosting.
Generally, a server farm distributes computing workloads between the individual servers or components of the farm, and speeds computing processes through the use of multiple servers. A server farm may use load-balancing software for tracking, prioritizing and scheduling processing requests depending on priority and present demand. If a server in the farm fails, another server can act as a backup. In this way, a server farm can be used to process a large amount of requests for data or services by multiple users in a network.
The servers of a server farm may be physically positioned together using a racking system or other means to compactly locate multiple servers in a single area. A system administrator of the server farm may monitor the operations of each server in the server farm. The system administrator may also configure, or perform other administration functions, one or more of the servers in the server farm.
In a server farm, it is inconvenient for each server to have a dedicated mouse and keyboard attached. A KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch is typically provided in such an environment so that a keyboard and mouse can be shared between servers. A KVM switch typically uses a star topology arrangement which requires multiple cables from each server be connected to a KVM switch. However, such a star topology requires a large amount of cabling where there are a large number of servers needing to share a keyboard and mouse, and because the KVM switch, the mouse and the keyboard are typically located away from the servers.
As recognized by the present inventors, what is needed is an apparatus, system and/or method for sharing data from a peripheral device between multiple computers or servers, such as in a server farm where a single keyboard and mouse may be shared by multiple servers.
It is against this background that various embodiments of the present invention were developed.